Nepenthes Cordon

Christopher Boots is an Australian lighting designer whose love of natural materials shines through in all of his creations. Boots’s contemporary lighting fixtures are made from brass and quartz crystals, giving them an ethereal glow. His designs include spectacular chandeliers and pendant lights, geometric wall lights and sculptural table lamps.

Boots was born in 1979 in Melbourne, Australia. He initially studied linguistics and literature before graduating from the National School of Design in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design. He apprenticed with pioneering lighting designer Geoffrey Mance and spent several years training in various lighting techniques before developing his unique style. 

In 2011, Boots opened the Christopher Boots lighting studio and released his first collection. The studio was founded on the idea of material and metaphysical exploration, combining geometry, symmetry, pattern and symbology. Every piece is made by hand, using both traditional techniques and cutting-edge technology. Boots works with sculptors, ceramicists, glass blowers, coppersmiths and bronze casters to create luminous fixtures.

“I am influenced by nature primarily,” Boots told The Study, “the way nature works and evolves through mathematics, biology and time.” Taking inspiration from nature, many of Boots’s lighting fixtures are modeled after the forms of stalactite, which he describes as “beautiful yet completely haunting.”

Boots’s lighting designs have been showcased at the National Gallery of Victoria, Parliament House in Melbourne, Rossana Orlandi, Hermès in Melbourne and Cassina in Japan.

On 1stDibs, find an extensive collection of Christopher Boots lighting.

Chandeliers — simple in form, inspired by candelabras and originally made of wood or iron — first made an appearance in early churches. For those wealthy enough to afford them for their homes in the medieval period, a chandelier's suspended lights likely exuded imminent danger, as lit candles served as the light source for fixtures of the era. Things have thankfully changed since then, and antique chandeliers and pendant lights are popular in many interiors today.

While gas lighting during the late 18th century represented an upgrade for chandeliers — and gas lamps would long inspire Danish architect and pioneering modernist lighting designer Poul Henningsen — it would eventually be replaced with the familiar electric lighting of today.

The key difference between a pendant light and a chandelier is that a pendant incorporates only a single bulb into its design. Don’t mistake this for simplicity, however. An Art Deco–styled homage to Sputnik from Murano glass artisans Giovanni Dalla Fina, with handcrafted decorative elements supported by a chrome frame, is just one stunning example of the elaborate engineering that can be incorporated into every component of a chandelier. (Note: there is more than one lighting fixture that shares its name with the iconic mid-century-era satellite — see Gino Sarfatti’s design too.)

Chandeliers have evolved over time, but their classic elegance has remained unchanged.

Not only will the right chandelier prove impressive in a given room, but it can also offer a certain sense of practicality. These fixtures can easily illuminate an entire space, while their elevated position prevents them from creating glare or straining one’s eyes.

Certain materials, like glass, can complement naturally lit settings without stealing the show. Brass, on the other hand, can introduce an alluring, warm glow. While LEDs have earned a bad reputation for their perceived harsh bluish lights and a loss of brightness over their life span, the right design choices can help harness their lighting potential and create the perfect mood. A careful approach to lighting can transform your room into a peaceful and cozy nook, ideal for napping, reading or working.

For midsize spaces, a wall light or sconce can pull the room together and get the lighting job done. Perforated steel rings underneath five bands of handspun aluminum support a rich diffusion of light within Alvar Aalto's Beehive pendant light, but if you’re looking to brighten a more modest room, perhaps a minimalist solution is what you’re after. The mid-century modern furniture designer Charlotte Perriand devised her CP-1 wall lamps in the 1960s, in which a repositioning of sheet-metal plates can redirect light as needed.

The versatility and variability of these lighting staples mean that, when it comes to finding something like the perfect chandelier, you’ll never be left hanging. From the natural world-inspired designs of the Art Nouveau era to the classic beauty of Paul Ferrante's fixtures, there is a style for every room.

With designs for pendant lights and chandeliers across eras, colors and materials, you’ll never run out of options to explore on 1stDibs — shop a collection today that includes antique Art Deco chandeliers, Stilnovo chandeliers, Baccarat chandeliers and more.